Coaches Association Urges NFF To Pay Players, Coaches' Outstanding Bonuses, Allowance

Coaches Association Urges NFF To Pay Players, Coaches' Outstanding Bonuses, Allowance

By Niyi Busari

The Chairman of FCT Football Coaches Association, Godwin Bamigboye has urged the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Melvin Pinnick to pay backlog of coaches salaries, players bonuses and allowance owed by the federation at this trying time to cushion the effect of the lockdown as a result of Corvid-19.

He advised that the Nigeria Football Federation should make a deliberate effort to extend support to the various stakeholders in form of payment of salaries and allowances of coaches and allowances of national team players yet to be paid, including prompt payment of salaries to NFF staff in view of the fast approaching Ramadan Fasting.

He, also advised the NFF President to show more commitment to his constituency as a well packaged plan or palliative gesture to the football family will go a long way to affect positively the lives of the citizens in the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

He added that the League Management Company (LMC) and other Leagues should encourage Clubs to pay salaries of players and officials to mitigate their suffering at this period of lockdown.

Bamigboye hopes that the NFF will extend palliatives to its affiliates such as the Nigeria Football Coaches Association (NFCA), Nigeria Football Referees Association and the National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers (NANPF) and indeed Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN). He also suggested that the Football Family which has a very large percentage of youths of the Nigerian population should be seen as a target group by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in their effort to mitigate the suffering of Nigerians in this period of lockdown.

Meanwhile, a reliable source from the NFF told BSN Sports alleging that the NFF paid Fifty Thousand naira to (N50,000) as palliative to all State Football Association Chairmen.

The Nigeria Football Federation who announced 65 percent of self funding in 2019 following over One billion naira four-year sponsorship deal with twelve companies is owing the Nigeria Falconets who went to represent the country at the 2018 FIFA Women's U20 World Cup in France,

The Nigeria U17 Women National team, Flamingoes have not received their outstanding allowance and bonuses since 2015. The Nigeria Football Federation is still owing the U23 Eagles for 14 months.

The Beach Soccer national team have not been paid for over three years.